Perplexing Enticement
by Aerysa
Summary: Theme - Drive. A long night at work leads Misaki into an unexpected situation.
1. Chapter 1

I saw a list of themes on someone's blog I visited so I thought I would see if it helped me come up with story ideas. I think the fact that I'm posting to begin with says it all :)

The theme for this one is "Drive".

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**Perplexing Enticement**

"Of all days, why did I have to park so far away?" Misaki grumbled to herself. "I just finished the report on EH-226, but I still need to analyze the data for BQ-741 and TP-693, and start the report on NG-108..."

The thought of all the work that was still piled up on her desk caused her to let out a long and weary sigh. There never seemed to be enough time in a day to complete all the tasks that were in front of her. If it weren't enough that they had to catch Contractors in the first place, she had to do all the analysis work that led to their capture _and_ all the paperwork after the fact.

As if that weren't enough, she still had yet to come close to capturing the elusive Black Reaper. The others on her team were fine with that fact since his activity had decreased lately, but not her. She wasn't going to be satisfied until she captured him with her own hands and pulled off that freaky white mask to reveal his true identity.

Sighing once more, her thoughts switched gears and she thought of those icy cold cans of beers sitting in her fridge. Just because, she might even consume two of them before she went to bed tonight. If only she could rest one extra day... But she couldn't - not with that much work waiting for her. One extra day that she took off was one extra day that these criminals were on the street and endangering unsuspecting civilians.

Pulling her keys from her purse, the jingle of them seemed to echo in the quiet darkness of the street outside of Foreign Affairs headquarters. Unexpectedly, an unsettling tingle went down her spine and she shook it off as she jammed her key into the lock. It popped unlocked. Nothing was wrong there.

_It's the exhaustion,_ she thought to herself. _All I need to do is go home, take a long hot shower, and have some beer before I crawl into bed for much needed sleep._

Pulling the key from the lock, she yanked opened the car door and climbed into the front seat. Without a care, she tossed her purse onto the other seat and turned her attention towards the keyhole. It took her a few tries to get it in properly as her brain seemed to turn off. Just as she was about to turn on the engine, the sound of fabric rubbing together came from behind her.

As she made the move to grab her purse again, she was treated to the haunting view of that blasted white mask she had been thinking of moments earlier. Her mouth opened to scream, but his hand had quickly covered any sound that might have escaped. Her eyes went wide as she struggled to pull his hand away from her face.

"Mm mm..." came her voice, muffled as she scratched at his hand.

"Stop, before I make you..."

Instantly, she stilled as a stream of light from the street glinted off of his split-blade knife. He held it out in the space between the two seats and she shrank back away from it. It almost seemed like he was examining it, wondering what he should do next. For the life of her, Misaki couldn't comprehend how he came to be in her car in the first place.

"If I pull my hand away, you better not scream."

Not for one moment did she think that he would hesitate to carry out his threat, forcing her to nod obediently. Cautiously, he pulled his hand away and she breathed a sigh of relief as he backed off - slightly. She still didn't know why it was that he had come to find her in the first place.

"W - What do you want?" she finally asked as silence continued to envelope around them.

"Drive."

"But where?"

"Do you _always_ ask this many questions?" he retorted in a low voice.

"It..."

She would have said more, but he didn't give her the chance - at least, not if she wanted to survive. When she was about to speak again, he moved his blade closer towards her. Quickly turning to sit properly, Misaki fumbled with her seat belt a couple times before she managed to get it in with a click. The car started without a hitch and she glanced at the rear view mirror to see his masked face lurking around in the back.

"Drive. Now," he demanded when she was slow to pull away from the curb.

"But where are we going?" Misaki inquired as she did as he commanded.

She glanced at him again, but he didn't respond. Just that dark, piercing gaze staring back at her while he calmly sat in the back. Of course, _he_ would be calm. He was the one holding her hostage after all... Driving away from the safety of the head office, Misaki flickered her gaze towards her purse when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

_Damn it,_ she thought. _It's on the far end... And I'd have to go through his blade in order to get my gun..._

Her attention had only been preoccupied for a second, but she had the gut feeling that he knew what she was thinking. After all, he turned to face her directly, instead of watching her through the mirror - immediately after she had finished her thought. It was like he was telepathic, completely comfortable reading all the ideas that went through her head.

When she turned her attention back to the road, still not knowing where they were going, she heard him shifting across the back seat. Instead of sitting in the seat directly behind her, he was now sitting in the middle. The blade switched from his right hand to his left, causing her to tense in surprise.

Glancing at him once more, she had the distinct feeling that he was smirking at her from behind his mask; as odd as that sounded since he was a Contractor. His eyes never left her as he reached around the seat and grabbed her purse off of it. Quickly, it disappeared into the back and Misaki knew there was no possibility of getting it back - not without his permission.

"W - Why are you doing this?" she forced herself to ask.

"Turn left at the next intersection."

"Why are you always so difficult?" she muttered to herself.

She didn't expect him to respond and he didn't. He only waved his blade to the left, indicating that she should turn like he had instructed. He didn't have to say it twice. She would comply even without the threat of the blade. This was the closest she had ever been to him, even if not on her own terms, and she wanted to know what it was that he wanted.

The entire duration of the trip continued like this where he only spoke to give her instructions. She snuck glances in his direction, but he was always watching her. There was just no hint of what he was thinking as his gaze never wavered and his voice didn't give any clues to his thoughts.

She couldn't help thinking that this was odd since Contractors were supposed to operate solely on rational thought. No matter what light she tried to see this encounter in, it just didn't make sense for him to willing put himself in the same vehicle as the person trying to capture him.

He finally told her to stop approximately fifteen minutes later. She did as he said. When the engine was cut, he motioned for her to get out of the car. As she stood on the outside of her own vehicle, she watched with apprehension while he moved from the back to the front, and finally to stand in front of her. Somewhere in the process, she hadn't seen it, he had put away his blade.

"Turn around," he commanded when she continued to look at him.

Despite standing inches away from him, she didn't feel frightened like she should. After all, he could have killed her if that was his original purpose. He didn't have to put on this grand show of hiding in her car and threatening her. What his true purpose was, she couldn't imagine, but she didn't think it was to murder her.

She did as he asked, and she felt him grab her by the wrists. Her hands were pulled behind her. Surprised by the feel of silky smoothness against her fingers, she turned her head to try and see what he was doing. They were still standing really close - close enough for her fingers to brush across the front of his jacket.

"Don't look."

"Why not?" she asked, questioning his instructions.

A tingle of electricity danced its way along her arms and she decided to do as he asked. Even so, she didn't feel scared. Quite the opposite, but she felt a sense of excitement as she was having a secret rendezvous with her nemesis. Maybe, if she played her cards right, she would learn a little more - something she could use against him.

"Walk," he said, pushing her forward.

Her feet followed his command as she walked a few steps away. The door of the car slammed behind her and she realized that she wasn't even holding the keys anymore. They had disappeared on her, much the same way her purse had disappeared into the Black Reaper's possession...

"What are we doing here? Where are we anyways?" Misaki asked.

"Just do as I say and you won't get hurt, Officer Kirihara Misaki."

He guided her with his hand lightly on her back. She didn't really know why, but she was having stupid thoughts such as _if I force my arms together, his arm would be squished between mine_ and _his hand against my back feels familiar somehow_. Shaking her head to dispel these foolish thoughts, she glanced around at her surroundings instead.

They were walking on a concrete path that cut through a swatch of grass. The perimeter seemed to be lined with trees while flower patches randomly dotted the ground. There were no signs and her mind had been preoccupied while she drove, but if she had to take a guess, she was at one of the city parks... But what in the world would BK-201 want with her here?

Despite his steady guidance, he still did not speak. They continued to walk where he led them until he stopped her roughly by jerking on her hands. The unexpected movement startled her and she felt herself stumble against him.

"W - What?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

Again, the only response was silence. Her hands were tied awkwardly behind her back as he had used a length of wire to wrap around her wrist. It wasn't too tight, but she still couldn't break free of it. She knew because she already tried as he had ignored her attempts to escape.

As a result, she was leaning against him at a perilous angle, unable to right herself. His hand at her back propped her up while her feet seemed to be two paces ahead of the rest of her. Still not sure what he wanted, he didn't even try to help her. Instead, he seemed content to let her struggle unsuccessfully until she let out a squeak of surprise when she almost fell.

Thinking that he would have pulled away, that this was some ridiculous rouse for his enjoyment, she was surprised when he didn't. In fact, he wrapped his free hand around her hands and dragged her up against him. Stiffening in response, Misaki had the distinct feeling that her hands were dangerously close to a certain anatomical intimate area of the male body.

"Bwah," she exclaimed in embarrassment, a nonsensical sound, when he didn't move away.

"Don't move," he demanded when she tried to wriggle away from him.

That was easy for _him_ to say since he was the one with all the rational thoughts, regardless of the situation. She was alone in the middle of the night with the most notorious Contractor known to man, the Black Reaper, caught in an unexpected intimate situation... And he could tell her not to move?

"L - Let me go," she complained. "I'll do what you say, so just let me go!"

"I said to not move," he stated, like it made complete sense, like he was not affected by their situation one bit.

_Why would he be bothered when he was the one to orchestrate the whole thing?_ Misaki thought miserably. _He isn't the one with hands in places where they ought not to be..._

Her struggles came to a grinding halt when she felt his hand move slowly up her back. She still had no idea what he was trying to do, but what he _was_ doing was making her decidedly uncomfortable as she was forced into a startlingly intimate encounter with him. It didn't help that she could feel his electricity traveling up her spine, along with his hand. Was it his way of torturing her before he dealt with her?

She wouldn't be surprised if he was ordered to get rid of her since she was the one who stuck her nose into everything related to Contractors. Whoever he was working for, they couldn't be pleased by her continued interference. Despite the instructions, it wasn't like they would outline the specific method he would have to use when it came to accomplishing the deed.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when he stroked a finger down her spine.

"Kirihara-san."

"W - What?" she asked dumbly.

"Misaki."

"W - What?" she repeated.

He didn't reply; at least not verbally. He finally stepped away slightly and it was a small consolation because this action was followed by both of his hands lightly wrapping around her wrists. It didn't stop there as they moved up her arm, pushing away the sleeves of her blazer. The skin on skin contact seemed to burn an imprint into her flesh.

She sucked in a breath of air, her entire body tense. How unfair of him; to create these tingly senses of anticipation within her before he took care of the deed. If it was his way of alleviating her anxiety about what was sure to follow, he was not doing a good job. In fact, he was doing a horrible job as traitorous and wanton thoughts entered her mind.

He pressed his head next to hers and the image of the white mask reminded her of the thoughts she had before entering her car. Except this time, she wanted to rip it away for different reasons as she imagined his lips pressed against her neck; all the while still holding her captive like this.

Not pulling away, his hands freed themselves of her arms and she felt them move to her body again. One arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her into his body awkwardly - once more reminding her of where her hands were. If she wiggled her fingers just a bit, they could get lost in the cover of his long trench coat.

_To make sure I capture him,_ she told herself.

His free arm was slowly making its way to join the other one when he suddenly stopped and stiffened. His gaze turned away from her and she followed his line of sight. Whatever had distracted him, it seemed to capture his attention completely. She didn't even see anything. No words were passed between them when he pulled free of her completely, leaving her standing in the middle of an unknown park, with her hands bound behind her back.

"W - What?" she inquired as he was already walking away. "Where are you going?"

"To take care of business."

"Eh? I... I thought I was the business..."

She couldn't tell if he heard her or if he replied as he vanished, like he always did, into the trees. He was gone with the wind and she still didn't know what he had wanted or what he was trying to do. Just as she was thinking that she couldn't get home since she was still tied up, her wrists fell apart like he had magically unbound her.

When she glanced at her wrists, there was no wire. There was the slightest impression of them into her flesh, a sign that she wasn't dreaming, but that was about it. Her purse and keys were on the ground a few feet away from her. He must have left them there as he was leaving, but she could have sworn that he wasn't carrying them when they first exited the car...

"What in the world was that?!" she screamed in frustration, unconcerned since she was not anywhere where the noise would disturb others.

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**A/N:** Is the ending even satisfactory? Lol~ Perplexing indeed...

I do kind of have a "continuation" part thought out for this, but I can't really see an ending so I'm not sure if I should write it or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Ugh... I seriously have too much time on my hands... But I can't sleep :'( So the next best thing is to work on writing... Lol~

(Gah... Such a writing junkie ^^;; )

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**Chapter 2**

"Are you sure, Yin?" Hei asked.

_"Yes, she's on her way there right now."_

With his hands in his jean pockets, Hei camped out at the playground near Home Run House in his Li outfit. Pacing around, he waited anxiously for Misaki to appear as he had Yin track her movements. She owed him as she had interrupted his midnight rendezvous with the beautiful officer, all because Huang, that bastard, had called a late night meeting. More accurately, the Syndicate thought that they were at their beck and call.

He was just getting to the good part as he had figured he could spend some alone time with the officer. It was his method for worming his way into her head even more so that he was always on her mind - just like she was on his. It fit the image of BK-201, unlike this shy and unassuming character of Li. Even so, he couldn't break out of it since this was the image the Syndicate had told him to personify.

"Waiting for someone in particular, Hei?"

"Mao. What are you doing here?" Hei asked suspiciously.

"Nothing really... I know you've been keeping tabs on the lady officer."

Mao slowly licked his paw as Hei's calm mask of Li turned into a piercing gaze. Even so, he wasn't going to say anything to Huang or the Syndicate. He would choose how he acted, even if he was a dog (or more accurately a cat) of the Syndicate's. After all, Hei was the one who made things interesting around here.

"Get lost. You'll be in the way."

"Don't worry," Mao replied lazily. "It's not like I would tell Huang. What's the fun in that? Besides, it's entertaining to see what kind of escapades you get into."

"I said go."

"Going, going..."

Hei watched carefully as Mao made his way towards the slide by the sandbox, one of his favourite places to laze around in the sun. After all, the girl from the shop would come out looking for him with food in hand. That damned cat only had self-interest at heart. Even so, Hei was not going to let him get in the way of his meeting, self-created, with Misaki.

He turned his attention back to the pathway that led to the ramen house and wondered when Misaki would arrive. He didn't have that much free time since he was sure the Syndicate would have others watching them, even if Huang didn't report anything to them. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he got reprimanded - not that he cared - by Huang for things he didn't even notify him about.

While he waited, he took the time to carefully reconstruct the bashful expression of Li's. He hated this personality since he was expected to be meek and mild. That way, he could get by without bringing too much attention to himself. At the same time, it hindered his own personal interests, specifically the relationship he had with Misaki.

If only he could mix his two personalities together... To be assertive since BK-201 was aggressive while Li was passive. Then he could possibly ask her out, even though he knew he shouldn't. But honestly, he didn't care what the others thought. He could protect her if he really needed to. He wasn't scared of any of the Syndicate's pawns.

Despite that knowledge, he didn't want to cause trouble as it would be a hassle, forcing him to be on the run for the rest of the life. At the same time, he still needed to find the answers to what exactly happened with Bai. He wouldn't forget his original goal, even if he was interested in a woman like the officer. He had searched for Bai for much too long and she was much too important to be forgotten.

A hint of movement along with a flash of blue in his periphery captured his attention and he spotted Misaki wandering towards the ramen house. She loved to eat, just like he did and they had been here once before. He figured she would come back some time as their food was delicious. He had just hoped it wouldn't be too long since she was always busy with work.

As she walked to the store from one direction, Hei made his way around the park so that he came out on the other side. This would let him walk towards her, but his appearance wouldn't be suspicious as he was quite a distance away before she would see him.

Taking on that slow gait that Li was known for, Hei shoved his hands into his pocket and hunched his shoulders slightly forward. Glancing at the ground a few feet in front of him, he made his way towards the shop, pretending that he didn't see Misaki at all. As he neared the playground once more, he turned his gaze towards it and saw Mao calmly watching him.

"Li-kun!"

"Eh?" he exclaimed, feigning surprise. "Kirihara-san..."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked with a small smile.

"I - I have a bit of time off since we're doing exams right now."

"Oh... And you're not studying for them?"

"Well I was, but..." he said, looking away sheepishly as his stomach grumbled in response.

She chuckled and opened the door for him to enter. Thanking her with a slight bow, Li entered the store first to secure a table for two. The owner grinned at him and told him to pick any table he liked. It wasn't like the place was busy; it never was. It was only him on duty since his daughter was in school and Li was glad. One less person to witness their encounter.

"So, what will you have?" the owner called out as the two of them were seated.

"The usual for me," Li said.

"And for you, miss?"

"I'll have 3 bowls of your house special please," Misaki answered.

The owner's eyes widened in surprise, shaking his head in response before turning to enter the back. Li made sure that he was gone before he turned his attention back to Misaki. She watched him and quickly turned away when she got caught. He knew she was interested in him, but Misaki wasn't the type to make the first move. Not only that, but it was a darned nuisance since Li wasn't the type to make the first move either...

"So um, what brings you all the way out here, Kirihara-san?" Li asked, striking up a conversation. "Isn't it kind of far from your work place?"

"I... I know, but I had some extra time to myself today and I really liked the food here."

"I see. Are you capturing any bad guys?"

"A few, but don't worry," she said softly. "I'm sure they wouldn't want to hurt you since you're so sweet anyways."

Misaki blushed at her own words and Li felt nervousness building up inside of him. He didn't know what it was about her, but he could never keep control over his emotions like he should. After all, he was Hei, the Black Reaper. Except, he always behaved like the awkward Li around her when he was in these situations. That was why he had gone after her as the Black Reaper, hoping it would help him keep control of the situation.

"I... Ah, thanks," Li answered, scratching at the back of his neck. "I... I feel safer knowing that you're looking out for us."

"Of course. It's my job," she replied with a smile. "So what is it that you're studying? Have I asked this before?"

"No, not that I recall. Um... Well, I'm kind of just taking general studies right now."

"Not sure what you want to do?"

He nodded his head in reply, wondering how to get out of this one. Somehow, he always got drawn into her pace when they were alone together as Misaki and Li. He could just change personalities, but he didn't really want her to know that he was the Black Reaper. It was entirely frustrating to be trapped in this useless, shy personality. At the same time, Misaki was attracted to him as this persona so he didn't want to deviate from it.

"That's alright. I'm sure you'll figure out what you hope to accomplish. Thank you," Misaki said, the last part directed to the owner as he returned with their order.

"I'll be back with more when you're ready," he replied, glancing at Li.

"Thanks," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

Misaki knew he ate a lot; she did too. People always seemed to make a big fuss about it. He didn't need to be reminded of that fact in front of Misaki. Even so, when he casually glanced at her, she grinned and started to dig into her food. The owner left them, muttering about the fact that he would look like him before he turned 30 and Li pretended not to hear as he went to grab the chopsticks.

"Has anything exciting happened for you?" Li asked her after taking a few bites of the noodles. "I mean, if I'm not asking too much. You don't have to answer if you don't want to..."

"Exciting? You mean, besides work?"

Li nodded. He wished she wasn't so professional since he wanted to know what she thought about her encounter with him the other night. It would never happen, but he could always hope. The farthest she had ever gone was to mention that there were bad people out there, but never said a thing about any of her actual business.

"Hm... Not really," she said, starting on her next bowl. "I guess it's kind of boring since it's always the same things with me... But um, I went shopping with Kanami - even if she had to force me to go. Besides that, work always keeps me busy."

"Did you buy anything?"

Shaking her head in response, she turned her attention away from him and stared into her bowl of noodles. Li watched her momentarily before turning back to the food in front of him. She didn't seem like the shopping type. She was the type who threw herself into her work 100% which should be fine with him, since technically, he was related to her work anyways. But it wasn't.

"Wh..."

"What about you?" Misaki asked, not realizing that she interrupted him. "You don't have friends to hang out with?"

"Well... Not when it comes to eating," he replied with a small chuckle. "They think I take too long..."

"I could imagine that," she answered with a grin. "Hm... Are you not feeling well?"

"S - Sorry? What makes you think that?"

"You're not eating that much."

Li looked down to see that he only made his way through four of the bowls when she was already cleaning up her third. The other six bowls were still sitting on the table and they both knew that he ate much more than that. He was hungry, but at the same time, he was busy trying to think of ways to draw personal information from her.

"I - I'm fine," he said with a weak chuckle. "I guess I'm more nervous about these exams than I realized."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine."

_Damn it, just ask her out already,_ Hei thought to himself. _But... What if she thinks it's too bold of Li and refuses? Or worse, doesn't take to his advances?_

"Kirihara-san..."

"Oops, sorry. Phone."

Li inwardly sighed as she turned away from him while she put the phone to her ear. She spoke quietly and he had the distinct feeling that she would run away on him. After all, phone calls were always work-related with her. There was no worry that he had any rivals, but at the same time, he had no means of pursuing their relationship. Just once, he wanted to spend a decent amount of time with her - with no interruptions whatsoever...

"I know, I'm sorry," Misaki said, an apologetic glance cast in Li's direction. "I went for lunch. I'll be back right away."

"Okay, see you there."

She sighed as she hung up and stared into her empty bowl for a moment before glancing up at him. Li smiled weakly since he didn't know what to say at this point in time. Luckily, the owner came with more bowls to break the silence, only to be surprised that there was still food on the table.

"Eh?" he exclaimed. "Y - You're not finished yet?"

"I'll finish it; don't worry."

"It was delicious, like always," Misaki said. "If I could have the bill... I'm afraid my visit got cut short and I really need to run."

"Eh... Alright. I'll leave these for you here then."

Li nodded as the owner placed the bowls on their table. He waited for the owner to leave again before he turned to Misaki. She smiled as she glanced at him, patiently waiting for the bill. Again losing his chance to make a move, Li forced himself to smile.

"I can get it for you, Kirihara-san," Li stated. "After all, you're in a hurry."

"Oh no, I couldn't do that. It must be difficult for you living here by yourself as a student."

"I... Really, it's not that much more. After all, I already eat enough as it is..."

"Are you sure that's alright?" she asked with a slight hint of blush to her cheeks. "I mean..."

"Yes, it'll be fine. I - I hope we can do this again some time."

"Me too," she murmured. "Thanks a lot, Li-kun. I owe you one. I'll treat you out next time we get the chance."

Nodding at him, she dashed off after he said his good-byes. Right after she left, the owner returned with the bill and was surprised to find her missing. Telling him to put everything on one bill, Li finally turned to his food with renewed vigour. So much for that encounter... _Again._ It looked like he was back to attempting this as the Black Reaper as he seemed to get more done that way... Kind of...

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**A/N:** The END. Hopefully it didn't seem like a cop out ending cuz at least this chapter describes Hei's motive for behaving like he did (in chapter 1).

My apologies if the Hei/Li transition was confusing. I did it on purpose to illustrate which persona he was using at the time. It kind of documents the split-personality we know he is.


End file.
